Iroquois Nationals travel to Prague

The Iroquois Nationals are days away from their first game in the FIL World Indoor Lacrosse Championship that is being held in Prague, Czech Republic. Their first game will be held on Saturday against Ireland, Sunday against Czech Republic and Monday against USA.

It is a year after demonstrating to the world their defense of Native American sovereignty by refusing to travel on anything but the Haudenosaunee Passport to the World Cup in Manchester, England. This time around the organizing committee worked with Czech Immigration Officials to ensure that they would not implement any obstacles to the team entering the Czech Republic. This issue was resolved with some help from the Czech Embassy in Ottawa and the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Official Roster of the Iroquois Nationals was posted in last weeks’ edition of Indian Time with congratulatory words from the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. Of the roster, five players are proudly representing the Akwesasne Territory in the World Arena of Indoor Lacrosse.

BRANDON SWAMP - Transition

Swamp attended SUNY Potsdam where he played for a year before waiving his NCAA eligibility for the opportunity to turn pro by joining the National Lacrosse League (NLL). After a trade from Minnesota, Swamp played his rookie and sophomore year with the Buffalo Bandits.

PETER JACOBS - Forward

Jacobs was a multi-sport star at the CCVS during his high school years and jumped right into the NLL. Drafted in 2008 to the Portland Lumberjacks where he ended his rookie year with 23 points in 11 NLL games, with 3 additional in the post season. Jacobs faced-off against his future teammate in a thrilling Championship game during his inaugural season with the NLL. He would go on to play his sophomore year with the Lumberjacks before being traded to the Rochester Knighthawks in 2010.

BRANDON FRANCIS - Defense

Francis has played with the Buffalo Bandits for his entire 4-year career with the NLL. He originally signed as a free agent with the team in 2007. In 2010 Francis led the Bandits with a career-high 53 penalty minutes. Francis has also had an exceptional season in the face-off circle with the Bandits, winning 114 of 184 attempts. The enforcer of the team was handed a 4-game suspension towards the end of this season preventing him from playing until the Championship game.

MIKE THOMPSON – Goalie

Thompson has been called one of the hottest goalies in the NLL this past season. He is again representing the Buffalo Bandits, who he played for in 2008 when they won the NLL Championship. Thompson joined the Peterborough Lakers in the 2010 season and would eventually go on to win the Mann Cup. This past season for the Bandits, Thompson was named the NLL Overall Player of the Week for games played in Week #9 of the 2011 Regular Season.

The Nationals Roster includes a lot of talent from the Haudenosaunee Nations. A mix of rookie players along with the experienced veterans makes this team a gold-medal favorite. Check back next week for an update on the Nationals progress towards the Finals.